


A Hero In The Making

by RageMaster05



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Robin (Comics)
Genre: Background Character(s) Not Tagged., Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Comics in the sea of time, Gen, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rite of Passage #618, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25242163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RageMaster05/pseuds/RageMaster05
Summary: A self-insert into the character Tim Drake staring from the beginnings of his career (Detective Comics #618) and onwards.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

I woke up

Now not a surprising, unusual, or unique experience for a human being but it was all of those in my current experience because I'd just died. Yeah, full-on car crash with car parts stabbing me and blood-covered clothes full shebang. 

I looked around the room "Is this the afterlife?" I mumbled to myself. If it was it was definitely not what I was expecting it to be. I had expected more white nothingness with someone at the gates welcoming and looking through a list for everything, not a room that was straight out of the late 90s.

I looked around the room found that there were two doors, a crt television, a bookshelf filled, and posters of bands I hadn't heard of. I picked one of the doors and found that it lead to a bathroom. Okay, that kinda made sense, if this was the afterlife luxury was expected but the old television, the landline I'd just noticed didn't make sense. I went back to the bathroom and decided to wash my face, as I hit the water to my face and then looked in the mirror to find that my face wasn't my face. 

The hair color was the same but the features were different, completely different, younger too. My eyes instead of being black, it was blue and I looked to be 14 or 15 instead of 20 like I was when I was born.

-

-

-

Okay, maybe it wasn't heaven maybe it was hell and it was punishment for something I'd done, I couldn't recall doing anything deserving of it but who knows. I went over to the bookshelf and pulled a book randomly. I expected it to be empty or unreadable but it wasn't. It was fully readable with some notes written in it and some curved pages. I pulled another book, the same story as the other. I looked at the digital clock that was there and tried to turn it on, it worked. I tried the lights and the lamp, they worked too. 

So, this wasn't the dreamlike punishment where nothing worked. The idea that this was some type of afterlife was slowly losing ground and instead, dread was taking its placed followed by a possibility that I was familiar to me through fiction, from the alternate history site to the spacebattles site, the concept of life after death in a fictional world wasn't a foreign one but it was very much in the same group with dragons and magic, so the possibility of it was never looked at as likely by me.

I wondered what my name was and when I did a name stick out to me - _TIM-_ so that was that. I then felt like my head was being bashed in and crushed as images ran through my mind. 

People say their life flashed in front of them as they were about to die. I can confirm that this was not something that happened as you were about to die but -apparently- after you died and it wasn't even your life. I experienced a life that was foreign to me and after a minute as familiar as the sun to the earth. I experienced hanging out with his friends, and more importantly his nightlife or was it my nightlife and my friends. Was it a combination of both of us or was it me having his memories? 

I heard someone call out "TIMOTHY. Wake up, you are going to be late." Mrs. Mac, the name came to me after hearing her voice. I quickly put on something more suited to go outside and yelled back "COMING." I tried to remember what I was supposed to bring to school today. When I couldn't be sure that that was all I put in everything and then dashed out of the room. 

When I left the room and stopped to look around, I noticed that I was in a really rich and big house, there were painting on the walls and stuff. I wasn't poor but I was an apartment complex boy, a suburbs, or a mansion that was above my paygrade. 

I felt a bit weird owning all of these stuff when I didn't have anything close to this when I was growing up but the sense of urgency and the feeling lateness took over and the weirdness went away. I got on the bus and as I walked to an empty seat I tried to remember the names of all these people around me, I sat down to the person I felt the most familiarity to, Ives the name came to me when he greeted me. Most of the time on the bus I was listening and he was talking with me occasionally jumping in after trying to remember what he was talking about. I just hoped I wasn't that much out of character, at least noticeably so. Today was apparently the last day of school, so I wouldn't have to worry about that for the time being.

What I was dreading most was a few hours away as the sun was starting to set. I pulled the bed aside and pulled the floorboard then grabbed the bag there. I racked my memory trying to remember when Jack Drake would be home and then remembered that he was apparently gone for some company thing somewhere and would be for a few weeks with Janet Drake there with him.

I walked around a bit and found that I was alone in the house, so I decided that I was going to go to the Batcave. When I went to the Batcave a man welcomed saying "Welcome, Master Tim. Would you care for something?" Alfred the name came to me. "Water, perhaps Alfred," I responded. If it was uncharacteristic, he didn't say anything. I looked around found that it was incredible, there was a dinosaur, a giant penny, and a set of screens making the place look advanced for the 90s. A man in grey clothes with a dark blue color was sitting there in front of the computers. 

I remembered that I was training with him, "The security guard at the bank isn't all he seems, he was convicted for theft in '79 and fraud in '82 and used faked references and a fake name to get the job. What do you think?" He asked me when I approached, Batman and Bruce Wayne I remembered. The details of the case came to, there was a hacker stealing money from online accounts.

"Well, a security guard doesn't have to have access to digital information, still we have to find him. How is that going?" I was a little shocked at how easy these questions and answers came to me when I couldn't recall a Batman before I came to this cave. This was a bit worrying in that, Was Tim drake and I starting to merge?

"No luck as of late. It seems like Mr. Reynolds will be visited by the Batman tonight." He said as a voice came from above "Mail, Master Tim." I turned to look the direction from which the voice had come from. "It seems that your school thought this urgent news otherwise they would have waited until your vacation was over," Alfred said as he handed me the mail. "Thanks." I responded.

"Anything interesting?" Bruce asked while I looked through the mail. There was an invitation to a summer ball and a postcard from the Drakes telling me that their stay in the region would be extended

"Are they still in Zanzibar?" asked Bruce "No, the Caribbean this time. _Dear Tim, we are island hopping for a bit. Business. Will call when we get back in a week or so._ in a week or so, that's a certain amount of time." I said. Bruce looked in pain for a quick second and said "They are busy people, Tim." I also caught Alfred's disappointed look

-

-

-

Batman had gone out for this Mr. Reynolds, and while he was doing that I decided to try my hand at the 90s computers but found myself, checking out employees who have access codes, a few times and getting a line into the bank's program. Most of this was done on -what I'd describe as- instinct.

The sound of the engines get closer as the Batman entered the cave and I thought it prudent to tell him what I'd done. "What next?" He said. It seemed like he was going to say something else and contiınue his statement when I interrupted and said "I think we should wait, we'll get him when he tries something." 

The door leading to the house upstairs opened and Alfred rushing downstairs while saying "Master Tim, I think you should turn on the news." After hearing that I felt woken up and quickly did as he said.

" _THERE IS STILL NO WORD OF ABOUT THE PLANE CARRYING GOTHAM INDUSTRIALIST, JACK AND JANET DRAKE. THE PLANE THAT TOOK OF IN ANTIGUA SHOULD HAVE ARRIVED THREE HOURS AGO IN KINGSTON, WE'LL UPDATE YOU AS MORE NEWS COME"_ The tv close shut as Bruce closed it from the remote, He grabbed me on the shoulder as if he was afraid I'd do something. "We don't know what happened, anything could've caused a delay. A loud noise came from the computers. "Take care of him, Alfred. I had better look at this."

I crumpled into a chair and felt an unexplainable worry, I'd never met these people and yet I felt like this had happened to people I knew and loved. Alfred appeared behind me and started to reassure me "Any number of things could've happened, they might have just been late, they might have gone to another island or turned back or they might have-" "Crashed." I interrupted. "Yes, I suppose that could've happened too, but never assume the worst until you know more." Alfred finished.

"I'm sorry Tim, I was interrupted by the hacker," said Bruce, he was about to say something else but I stopped him. "No, no it's good. I'll be going now, thanks." I started to go upstairs before he said something else.

Thoughts that could only be described as invasive -or would it be resistive since mine were the ones who came later- started to come to me like " _I need to be **stronger** , **better** and **I've got to be there.**_ " I wanted to punch something or do something at the very least.

I opened the window and laid down on the curved roof, my feet resting the roof wall and my eyes looking up at the night stars of the Gotham sky and I felt my self doze off at the thoughts of the future.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy and don't be afraid to criticize.

I heard a knock on the window as I lay down on the roof, the cool wind hitting my body through the spotted clothes. I turned to look to see if it was the wind hitting the window or if it was Alfred, turns out it was neither. Batman was knocking on the window -not Bruce, Batman- I got back in the room to hear what he was saying.

He'd brought a tray ith tea and snacks that he probably had taken from Alfred on the road up here, "You've been out all night?" He asked with a frown on his face, "Yeah, but more importantly is there any news?" His frown grew deeper with the question.

"None yet, I'm afraid but we're searching and with the news. They'll find them." He said carefully as if he was afraid I'd lash out. "Will they?" I asked in a disbelieving tone if it was possible his frown would have gotten worse. 

"We can only hope, think positively, and don't brood too much. It won't do anyone any good, not you nor your parents. Be strong for them. We'll do our best and what happens will happen. I can take a day off if you want?" He finished with the question. 

"No, find them, and I'll wait. That's all I can do. You go, I'll eat then find this Moneyspider." As he left I'd noticed he'd not taken off his cowl while he was upstairs from what the memories told me, he didn't go costumed upstairs. As if he was afraid of showing his face, then he says to be strong tone hopeful. Was my new life going to be full of contradictions like this? I would hope not otherwise, I wasn't going to be able to carry a conversation without analyzing it fully after or during it.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I was in the cave trying to figure this hacker out, hoping to distract myself from to foreign sadness that wasn't my own but Tim's while also relying on not my skills but Tim's. I was hoping that after a while accessing this stuff would be easier as our brains merged, I was just afraid that I would have to give some of it up and that I wouldn't get all of Tim's. 

"Where is he, Alfred?" I asked a bit rudely if I was being honest. 

"In the city, he has a job to do but rest assured he will find something about your parents." I bit back the urge to say something rude, an urge not fully my own as is the pattern. "I'm tired-" "and worried plus frustrated I'd wager. You can sleep here today if you want. Go upstairs and I'll bring you some cocoa." He interrupted as he guided me out of the cave. "Thanks, Alfred I appreciate it."

I entered the room and laid down on the bed, but as I couldn't bring myself to sleep because I was getting really sick of these Tim Drake feelings I was having. I know I was the invader here but I wasn't here by choice. I felt really worried because of that I couldn't sleep, so I started looking around the room when I didn't find a lot, I decided to go back downstairs.

When I got there, I found a tape that wasn't there before, it had Drake written on it so I decided to see watch it.

...

...

...

"NO!!" I heard a voice say only to realize that it was my own voice, my leg turned weak and then I collapsed into the chair there. All without realizing that I'd done it, I'd wondered if he had taken his body back but if that was the case it was no longer that way. Maybe he was there taking over at the most personal and emotional situation than a thought came to me. Could I communicate with him? _TIM, BUDDY YOU IN THERE, CAN YOU HEAR ME_ I thought-yelled and then promptly got no response, so either he wasn't responding and was hiding himself really well or -more likely this- wasn't there. Occam and his razor would indeed suggest that.

While I was contemplating this, Batman came in. Most likely as a response to my scream of, "What happened?" He was saying until he saw what was ın the screen. "At least they're alive." I mumbled in a quiet tone. Then in a louder voice said, "Are they going to pay it?" I asked. "The company, apparently, has a strict no-ransom policy but they never thought about the situation actually happening, so I'm not sure if it will happen." He responded carefully. I was kind of getting sick of this happening when he was speaking to me, if I hadn't blown up by now why would he think that I would blow up know.

"What do you know?" I asked in what I'd hoped would be a calm tone but I wasn't sure that it actually was.

"They claim to be a guerilla, anti-American group but I don't really buy it. I think that's just a cover. I think they are a voodoo cult in Haiti. So we do have a location but that's still a wide area." I cut in before he continued "Voodoo, what do you mean voodoo?" I asked.

"The giant centipede on the video is a voodoo symbol, sorcerers -obeah men, they call them- kept them as a symbol of power." He responded. "So, Haiti. When are we going?" "We aren't going" he cut in. "We'll be patient and do it with precision, then await the board's decision." And with that, he turned and got back in the car but not before saying something to Alfred, leaving me there. I went to the Robin suit in the cave while Alfred came next to me.

"Hey, Alfred. Do you think being parentless is a natural requirement for Robin?" "Dear Lord! No, why would you ask that?"Alfred replied in a tone that made clear what he thought of the question. "Well, Neither Jason Todd nor Dick had their parents when they became Robin." "Dear sir, it may have happened that way but it doesn't mean that it has to be that way. Don't think that way. Come upstairs and drink your hot cocoa, that you left to cool upstairs." He guided me upstairs once again but I don't think that I would be able to come back again today unless a breakthrough happened and with the way, things were going today, I didn't think that was likely.


	3. Chapter 3

I was confused as to why I had a headache that felt like my head was bashed in with a hammer, I gathered myself and got up from the bed. If I had been paying more attention at the moment I would have noticed that the bed wasn't the one I was used to, that I felt shorter than I'd been in a long time, and that the bed I was currently in had that fancy bednet thing but no, I didn't notice any of these things and considering what I really felt the want for because of Tim Drake -i.e. Robin- I probably should have noticed them. 

Instead, I wandered around the room trying to remember how much I got drunk and what I did during that drunkenness period when it all came back rushing to me. I'd died and had came back, for the lack of a better word, in the body of a high school kid who was going to become a superhero who was currently having som parental issues -they were kidnapped by a cult pretending to be a resistance group for ransom money- and that I was probably a merger of both my past self and the superhero trainée kid, at least I suspected that I was being merged and hoped that I wouldn't lose some part of myself and that I'd get all of the former owner of this body's memories. I didn't really want Tim to get erased and him to be replaced by me, from his memories he looked like a good kid with a relatively bright future. I would prefer to be a mixture of both, instead of being responsible for, what is effectively, his death. Partially of not.

Then I remembered that I access to Tim's training. So I then tried a meditation routine, that Batman had taught him, to get my mind in order and if it was possible, to get rid of this headache. 

I was supposed to clear my mind but when I tried to do that, the opposite happened. Instead, the problems and emotions I'd been trying to ignore came back to me with a vengeance. Starting with the thoughts of the previous life that the older part me had lived, What happened to my family there being the most prevalent. After that the emotions belonging to Tim Drake, that I'd been trying to repress came back hard. I felt like I was on the verge of crying and anger on top of that. I got up after seeing that the meditation had failed and punched the wall in anger and frustration. Tim and I needed better anger control apparently, though maybe we were a bit justified on the punch. Well, Tim was and I was just there for the ride I suppose.

I got out of the room and went downstairs, but before I got to the entrance Alfred saw me and intercepted me. 

"Good morning sir, I notice you haven't eaten anything yet." He said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Can I have it downstairs?" I asked while still going down. He sighed and muttered something under his breath. "Very well, I shall bring it down to the cave." 

When I went down I decided to do some of the training routines I remembered -I think I managed to remember all of them but I wouldn't know if I forget any because I forget- I went to the mats and set the setup up.

After a good 20 minutes of more exercise then I'd ever done, Alfred came in with a tray that was filled with eggs, bread, and tea. sounds basic but it was done in a really different way than I'd ever seen it done. I think it was like an egg sandwich, I took a hesitant bite and "Alfred, god bless you, this is pure pleasure." This was probably really out of character but goddamn it was great, although Alfred didn't make a face or give any indication that it was out of character then again Alfred didn't really give any indication to his feelings, most of the time he had a standard blank -occasionally exasperated- face, maybe that was because I'd been here for maybe 15 hours or maybe that was his default. I decided to work on the Moneyspider case while eating.

I checked the line I'd placed, it had been triggered but Batman seems to have handled that. I decided to check if there was an influx of money to a specific place. Unlike cash, online transfers could be tracked and I don't if a lot of criminals realize this. Although I'm not complaining, it made my job easier. Huh, interesting I thought.

"What is interesting, young master if I may ask." Alfred asked. I hadn't realized that I'd said that aloud, might have to be careful about that in the future. 

"The same time the thief stole from W.E. there were thousands of new accounts opened in the name of Cambodian farmers. " I said. "Our thief seems to have a conscious." Alfred muttered. This opened up many more avenues from which I could look for the Moneyspider. Although the whole Robin Hood act of this hacker gave a pause. I knew I had to catch him but was it really wrong. I cleared my mind of those thoughts. Of course, it was wrong to steal but it was also wrong how those people's situations were.

I sped my pace up, it was a bit weird how isolated it felt to work in the cave. There were no car noises, no background music that I'd opened from Spotify. It was a bit eerie but also really calming. It was like I was meditating. I also made a note to make better non-clunky keyboards. I'm pretty sure Batman could pull that off with some help from me. It was really slowing me down.

"GOTCHA!" I yelled it was a correctional facility that was making all that noise, or at least someone from the inside there. I pulled up their records and one person there caught my eye Lonnie Machin AKA Anarky as he called himself, apparently he'd come to blows with Batman not a long while ago.

I decided that I was going to pay him a visit, I went to Alfred and asked him to apply some make-up as a disguise. "Are you sure about this?" Alfred asked.

"Bruce isn't here and we have in our hands, I am as sure as I can be. By the way, where is Bruce? Did he come back last night?" I asked him because I hadn't woken up particularly late and I didn't see him since last night when he had left. I was nervous, this was mine and Tim's first real mission. Let's see if I'm up to this, I really don't wanna get my butt kicked and possibly give myself away. "No, he did not come back last night nor did he call to say why." "Should we be worried?" "My boy, I've learned not to worry. Because worrying does not make a change no matter how much you do it"

Well, I should probably keep that in mind. I got up to check how I looked, and wow I didn't recognize myself. That's two days in a row. I should probably have stopped to question all of this because it was all nonsense and I was starting to worry that it was all a dream and that I would wake up from the coma when I was most invested.

I asked Alfred to drop me off a few blocks away and he picked the most inconspicuous car. I don't know why the Waynes owned a Ford Fiesta but I suppose it would be useful in situations like these.

* * *

"And how do you know this, young man?" The man asked, his name was Mr. Wallace. Getting in hadn't been particularly hard but it wasn't easy either, I wasn't sure how I was going to explain that I knew that this guy that was supposedly on his way to getting better was still committing all these crimes. 

"I am sure Mr. Wallace, I can't really explain but I'm absolutely positive." I responded, I was indeed sure of it but I couldn't reveal that I was indeed Robin -well Robin-in-training- so I had to try to finesse my way through to his cell. "He doesn't have a modem, no telephone access all he has is his _laptop_ , how can he do that?" He said, not understanding how that sounded. He can't shoot someone, all he has is a pistol. God this was going to be frustrating. There was also a phone booth with a sign that read "OUT OF ORDER", why they wouldn't just remove it I'm not sure but this was also a universe with flying people.

The "cell" was more like house arrest but I suppose this wasn't a prison more a rehab option instead of juvie. I couldn't seem to find fault in that but apparently they had given an inch and Machin had grabbed a few miles. The room had anarchy poster, the library probably had a few copies of Max Stirner books, and everything was messy. 

"Hello, Machin, or is Anarky or maybe Moneyspider. I don't know which of those you would prefer." An ugly look appeared on his face when I said that, it was ugly in both the literal and the metaphorical sense if I do say so myself. 

"Look here, young man. There are some serious accusations being made about you. It is being suggested that you-" Machin cut him off "Gave back the people what was being taken from them by the west. Yeah, I did that, I did the right thing. It's simple when you know what to do, I'm not paying it back. You expect me to?" "Look you are going to get in big trouble, if you continue to do this, your aims -as good as they maybe- will get somewhere you don't want to be at." I was looking through the room while they were arguing.

"You read Max Stirner, I could discuss him with y-" He cut me off by shoving the man towards me, I managed to sidestep him but I couldn't catch the man as he collapsed to the floor while Machin ran off. Well, that was a bit unexpected but apparently the guy was supposed to be a genius from what I managed to remember in the Tim's memories section of my mind. I could definitely see it.

He was cornered now, he did run to a dead-end -some genius- The madlad, seems to have developed a liking to pushing old men as he pushed the janitor, grabbed the mop, and swung at me. I was afraid I was going to struggle with this part of the job but to my favor, I might have struggled with remembering it but the body didn't struggle as I ducked from instinct and tackled him and dodged a punch he threw with the hand I hadn't gotten to keeping down yet. I managed to catch it and before he could act some more punched him in his nose, I was worried that it may have been too hard but he looked to came back from being dazed when the security people pulled me off him while also pinning him to the floor.

"Well, gentlemen. It's in your hands." "It seems that way Mr.- what is your name?-" I quickly thought of a name that would be my first alias. "Mr.Milner, take care of him." I said while walking away. Machin was yelling some nonsense like "The revolution won't forget you, I'll have your head first." "I have seen your face, you capitalist crook, dog, warmonger." and other obscenities that I probably hadn't heard. 

I walked down to where I had gotten off and looked to call him to pick me.

* * *

All things considered, this was a good catch for a practically newbie. Although as I spent more time the more things I managed to remember from Tim's memories. I walked over to the Robin suit because I felt called to it. The thought of being Robin, for potentially Tim-related reasons, filled me with hope and just good feelings. I felt my capabilities improve as I remembered more things, I remembered more things as I practiced. I felt proud.

I wondered if Bruce was here when footsteps came from the stairs. It was Bruce with a blood-covered bandage over his chest, wearing a robe.

"I have bad news, Tim."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm sorry Tim." He said. He didn't have to explain what he was sorry about, I felt an understanding come over me like someone had pulled a switch. I think it was clear that over time that Tim and I would merge so to speak and these moments which would normally trigger an emotional response in him was kinda hastening that process. While I had come to accept that the merge would happen, I didn't want it to happen so quickly or would it be seamless, you look away and it just happens. Maybe it was like that. Something had happened to the Drakes and it was obvious that that something wasn't good, far from it. Bruce hadn't given anything specific but that much was easy to figure out.

I felt my legs weaken to the point of not working, I almost collapsed to the floor but Bruce caught me. At that moment I felt like a cage, keeping in the storm that was Tim. Oof, things were definitely getting grave if I was speaking in poetry. 

The next thing he said wasn't explaining what had happened or how bad. "You should come with me." Then he disappeared for a second only to come back in a work-like suit. I just directly followed him to the car. This one wasn't a common Ford or anything, this was a fully-fledged rich person limo. That was enough to put me on edge. I leaned back and looped a song in my mind that had yet to come out yet. 

" _all I want to do is ride around shining while I can aff-"_ Bruce cut off my mumbling by telling me that we had arrived, I looked outside to find that we were at a hospital. After I saw that a small hope rose in me and a voice I had now come to adopt as my own spoke within me giving me the possibility that they were just hurt instead of dead. Normally my inner voice was my former voice. I should have probably noticed this at the time but I didn't, high off of hope.

That hope was crushed fast and ruthlessly as I saw one person there instead of a pair. Jack Drake was there hooked up to a machine and a blood pack. Looking almost dead.

"What happened?" I asked not able to bring my voice higher than a whisper but he had heard it. "Are you sure? It is not a good story." Bruce said. Of course, it's not a pretty story he looks dead I thought but didn't say. I wanted to hear what had happened.

* * *

"Drake Industries decided to pay the money but I wasn't sure that they were going to hold their end of the bargain. So I followed the guy who was going to pick up the money, He -like I thought- got on a plane to Haiti, Bruce Wayne was on that plane too." He stopped for a second as if he was remembering a bad memory.

"I followed him from the airport to the 'bad part of town' as the driver said, It was practically a dump with houses instead of part of the town. I realized that I had been seen the moment I stepped into there, the people who wear suits are the same as people with uniforms. I didn't have a lead or a plan, so I decided to hide and follow them and move with the money. It and your parents were ultimately meet."

"I got changed into the Batman right as they were getting ready to move. I eventually tailed them to a gathering. There was lava moat of sorts and on the island was a pole with your parents tied to it. The heat was clearly getting to them as they were gesturing to a liquid they thought was water, It would turn out to be a nerve poison. When the money got to their leader, Obeah Man as he was called. He didn't let them go instead walked through the fire because of the liedenfrost effect and the called on the others to come forward into the fire. Not knowing the science behind it, their fate in the leader must have been increased as they were able to walk through it also."

"I jumped in also -trusting the boots- a routine fight broke out, starting with the ones with guns. And then I decided to attack the head of the snake, if I got the leader they would back off but the fight moved from the solid ground back to lava and the suit was starting to struggle under the heat. I knocked him down and jumped to free them."

"When he got back and the fight resumed, the heat wasn't good on your mother so she rushed to the poison thinking it was water and your father drank less while still drinking but only because I punched it out of his hand but it was too late."

"I'm sorry Tim, truly sorry." Bruce finished his story with an apology before calling for a doctor. I didn't know what to think or what to do, a voice inside me was telling me to yell and scream, cry. When Bruce was talking with the doctor I didn't hear everything but I did hear that he will be paralyzed for an unknown amount of time. I turned my head to the doctor and decided to listen to the voice inside me. 

"Can I go inside?" I asked the doctor, she responded with yes but also gave me a warning. "He can hear you, so be gentle and only for a few minutes." she said while opening the door.

Bruce didn't come in, I could've used him there. I wasn't really sure what to do, how to feel, or what to say. Could I be sad? This wasn't my dad, and yet when I tried to think about mine. Jack Drake's face came up, same with my mother and yet they weren't. They were Tim's, I finally decided to do what Tim would have and just cried. I wasn't crying for Jack Drake, I was crying for my lost life -both literately and metaphorically-, I was crying for the family I would never see again. But at the same time, I was crying for Janet and Jack. I was crying in the place of Tim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one, sorry about that but I couldn't figure how to go from here to the next arc I want to do and the perfect ending was already there.


	5. Chapter 5

France, I was going to France. Well, I was going to more places other than France but I was starting with France. I had finally gotten to wear the Robin costume -with pants this time- but with me not being sure that I had gotten all of Tim's training and that I was maybe not so ready. I got a little cold feet and was able to get a little more training. Just not how I had envisioned the extra training, I had expected a little more training in Gotham and not being sent over the world for training. I mean I had read everything in files and knew that Bruce had also gotten training all over the world. It was a little shorter than that -well considerably shorter- and possibly less brutal, or maybe not. Who knows? I will in the next few hours. 

I had said my goodbyes and was apparently going to train under the last practitioner of a dead fighting style. When you hear that you expect the Himalayas or maybe Iran, not metropolitan France. Paris to be exact. Although he was there through necessity because the Chinese had invaded in the 50s. 

When I had arrived, the address I was given wasn't really in the best part of the city. These streets weren't big enough for 3 people and they looked like they hadn't been cleaned for years and there was a group of trash, that might have been a homeless person with his head down or a group of stuff stacked on top of each other covered by a thrown away jacket. I cracked open the door and said "Hello? anyone there?" 

"Who are you?" said a voice. It was a male, most likely a young man. "I'm looking for a Rahul Rama, you wouldn't happen to know him, would you?" I replied straightening back and taking a slightly defensive stance. "So you're the American we've been waiting for. Come with me." He said coming slightly into the light to reveal what I had suspected. A stereotypical 90s teen, a bit on the older side though. "And who are you? You don't look like a guy that is at least 60." I said as forcefully I could while still being non-provocative.

"Noticed, did you now. I'm Shen Chi, the number one student, and his grandson." He said not even looking back. "I thought he was the only practitioner." I said following him carefully. "Well you thought wrong." he said before sighing "I'm his only student." I didn't say anything for a while. 

The place looked run down, there were a few bricks on the floor. The walls had holes, and things were all broken around. "You bring some of those American cigarettes?" Shen Chi said. "Oh, no I don't smoke." I responded back. "Pity." He said stopping and opening a door to what was probably my room.

"This is yours. This isn't like those rich rooms, better get used to it." He said a bit forcefully. I didn't say anything as I grabbed my back, placed it on the floor, and opened it. "Can I at least move stuff around?" I said making sure to place some snark into my voice. "Better get some sleep. You'll need to wake up early, class starts early." He said leaving with pace and leaving me with my own thoughts and with the room outside.

They called it the city of lights, they were wrong. The lights didn't work, the room was run down and I was definitely going to suffer backaches but it was apparently worth it. This Rahul Lama guy was apparently the real deal. He had lived through some hard stuff, so it should be useful and my computer stuff wasn't really going to require more work, and computer stuff was covered by Oracle, so I may be able to go her. With that, all considered, physical fighting stuff was going to be the area I need the most improvement in. I fell asleep to my ponderings and the sound of cars.

The physical fighting was to be done with the grandson because the master had gotten old and (there was a healing class too) the healing class was to be done with the Lama. The healing lesson had taken from the first light to when all sunlight had disappeared. It was a complex class and a fascinating class. This stuff was ancient in the time of Augustus. I was thought the pressure points in the body -I'm fairly sure that I can maybe turn this into a non-lethal, offensive tactic instead of just healing- and it wasn't on some chart either, it was shown on my own body too. It was long, really long but I think it was working and what was weirder was that he was able to teach it all without saying a single word. I later learned that he didn't speak English.

Next came the fighting part, Shen Chi looked too happy about this for my taste. 

"Okay, come at me. Let's how much you know, but more likely how much you don't." He said while making a 'come at me' gesture, "All you have to do is push me out of the boundaries, should be easy for you. You are a smart kid." Ohh, I really wanted to knock him on his back that was probably his goal as well. "Come on, Are you afraid?" I saw an opening on his left but when I moved to exploit it, he blocked me, then tried to kick me and when I thought that I had dodged, he kicked me with his other foot knocking _me_ back on my back and then placed a foot on my chest. I noticed that he used utilized some of the pressure points to bring me down. Apparently I wasn't as clever as thought. 

"Get up, again." He said.

After that many days had become the same as the first day, ending with me retiring to my room beaten and alone. Not really the Dark Knights Robin anymore, I suppose. I wasn't going to give up though, even if it's purely out of spite and also out of determination as I noticed that I was getting more time on my feet every spar. 

They then asked me to pick a weapon out of some traditional range weapons they teach from. There was a classic bow -no, I'm not carrying a bow on patrol. I'm robin not speedy-, a javelin -also a no for patrol- out of the weapons there only the crossbow and the sling could be useful on general patrol usage. I ended up going with the sling because reload was going to be a problem more than likely with the crossbow. 

"What do you expect to hit with that? Are you a kid?" Shen Chi said after I chose it. "You underestimate me. I reckon I can hit stuff with this." I said trying to sound as confident as I could, I wasn't really confident I didn't use a sling as a kid as some did nor did I have any experience with it but being overconfident as a disguise was something I was getting used to. The next day Shen Chi took me out for some 'fun'. 

I guess that I wasn't really doing a good job of looking into it because gave me little push and said "Come on, 'lighten up' as you Americans say. Live a little. What do you do for fun at?" He said. "I read maybe watch a movie." I couldn't really explain scrolling through sites because you couldn't get up and do something that you actually wanted to do. "I see, a real party man. I'ma need you to calm down." He said with a cigarette in his mouth. 

"You don't seem particularly serious for a student of ancient wisdom," I said. "When the old Lama kicks it, I'll open chains of fighting studios. Forget the healing, people can go to the doctor." He said, that was a bit shocking but also not really. "Come with me, here is where you'll have actually fun." He continued pulling me into a bar-like place. ".... is fun. ... it?"He said but I wasn't able to hear everything do to how loud everything was. "WHAT?" I yelled. "This .. fun isn't it?" He said again. "Sure, it is." I said, not bothering to make sure that he had heard me. This really wasn't really my idea of fun. I was sure Tim would have agreed. 

When I had gotten my soda and turned back a girl was approaching me "You an American?" she asked. Well damn, ı needed to learn how she figured that and cover that up. I couldn't stand out that much. "How do you figure?" I asked back. "It's the haircut, I have talent with such things." She said gesturing to her hair. 

"I'm gonna lose my hearing here. Want to go somewhere quieter? You can tell me about America." She said motioning to the door. I nodded my head and moved to head out. "Hey kid, whos the girl." Shen Chi said. "We're going outside," I said to him. "Really, I think she would want to be with me." and just as he said that he limped and moved away. "Nevermind him, tell me about your country." Did she stomp his foot, that's a bit bold if I say so myself.

"So what do you in Paris?" She asked walking away from the bar. "I'm a student here," I said. Something bad was going to happen, I didn't know what but I felt on edge and paranoid. "You here alone?" 

"Yeah, It's just me," I said carefully. "What a guy like you all alone? You're blushing that's cute." She said. I turned my head back when I heard some noise. There was a group of guys walking toward us, all wearing the same jacket as each other. Wait a sec, she was wearing the same jacket. I had a feeling that I was being set up. I felt myself stiffen up and took a subtle defensive form. 

"I should check on Shen, I gotta go," I said while slightly backing off. "He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. I'm more interested in you." Yeah, definitely being set up. I didn't know a lot about Parisian gangs. I made a note to check their attire with the records. I was probably going to have to break into a police department because I'm not sure if they digitalized records and the room I was staying in didn't have many outlets. "Now about that quite plac-. "LING, LING. Where have you been? We've been looking for you in this damned city." Said the leader of the group that had been walking toward us for the past few minutes. So maybe they weren't from the city but I couldn't be sure yet and more importantly, I wasn't being set up -again not sure yet- but it was clear she had associative experience with them

"You know this thing called fun, I was doing that," she said after he yanked her hand and said, "You **knew** that I wanted you to meet with us, you knew the plan." He continued pulling her with force, from her face it was obvious that it was painful. "Hold there!" I said as assertively as ı could -I wasn't much of a forceful person so it didn't come out as I wanted it to- moving in between them.

"Me?" He said gesturing to himself like he couldn't believe that someone would say something. "Who else?" I said trying to fill my voice with as much bravado as I could. "It's obvious she doesn't want to go, so leave it be." I really didn't want this to be a street fight lest I have to give something away because of that I didn't dodge when I saw the blow coming. I flew back, "If I had more time, you wouldn't want to know what I'm a do to you white boy*. I hope that I see you again." He finished with pushing me down to the curb then walking away. I dashed back to my room to grab my costume. 

I hadn't brought along the green, yellow, and red robin suit. Instead, I painted all the other colors but yellow black. So that when I went out, I didn't have to worry about anyone connecting me to Robin. If Tim Drake appears in Paris the same as a robin-look alike, they could connect the two figures. I wasn't going to take that risk. I even had a name. Phantom.

I quickly got into it and while they weren't on the main road anymore, I had seen which side alley they had gone toward, so I also went there. I really wanted to beat someone up at least someone who deserves it. I was pretty sure they deserved it. When I got there I didn't see a large group going into a building -I was too late for that- instead, I saw a guard standing in front of what was presumably the entrance and I was sure he was with the gang because the colors were the same. 

I snuck in through a broken part of the wall. This was good practice, I think. I crawled through the railings and followed the noises. When I was crawling through, I can swear that I heard someone in front of me but there was no one there. It wasn't a loud noise or a noticeable one instead, the only reason I had heard was the sound of something cutting through the air. I wasn't even a hundred percent sure that it was a person but it was also enough to put me on edge.

I finally had gotten to the source of the noise. The dragon gang -some of them had it on the back of their jackets so that's what I was calling them- was beating on a dude. Some had grabbed him from the back, wrapping his arm around him while another was punching.

I didn't know the whole situation, so it was a bit iffy that I had chosen to interfere but it didn't look right from where I was standing. So first I threw a smoke bomb, disturbing them a bit then jumping in, first kicking the one who was holding the guy, who recovered himself quickly and then started helping me. 

It looks like I had an ally, who was seemingly a capable fighter. "Who are you?" I asked as we were back to back like drake. "Clyde Rawlins, where are in the hell did you come from?" He said as I dodged a few knife attacks. "The hell is Gotham, Clyde," I told him ducking under a baseball bat and uppercut him through the chin.

"Well, wherever you come from you just got into an endless mess... what's your name?" He said while knocking down a dude. "Ro-" I cut myself off before I said that. "Phantom." I fixed it grabbing a bo staff from the person I had just knocked down. "Mysterious Phantom, huh" I was going to say 'just phantom' but decided to roll with it. 

When I dashed back and realized the brutality of the fighting blood and... was that a tooth. God, I had just realized that this wasn't just training -I had realized it before but it just hit with full force right now- this was real. A misstep and I was done.

Well, the experience is experience. If I was to be Robin, I needed to this here this once if I was to do it in Gotham. I wanted to do the right thing. The whole, punish the wicked, help the innocent and the oppressed. 

I saw the girl again, she was escaping with someone. I'm guessing she wasn't the innocent, it may not have been a set-up but she wasn't innocent either. When the remaining ones took off, Rawlins collapsed in my arms bleeding. I had managed to place a bug on one of those who were escaping. That would come in handy later.

I dragged him behind the building, taking out a wrapping to at least stabilize the wound. After I had done that, I placed him on the floor and went to a phone booth and called a hotel quickly reserving a room for a day and paying for it.

When I got into the room, I laid him on the bed and went to the roof to listen to what was happening over there with the gang,

"What happened over there? How did he get away?" 

"He had help, sir." 

"What .... of help." I couldn't hear what they said there but I'm assuming 'kind of'

"A big tough guy with guns told us to back off, you don't let us have g-" whatever he was saying was interrupted by the sound of punching from this point the volume decreased considerably.

"Who - tell me - really -" I'm couldn't make out what he was saying but I think he caught on to the fact that the other guy was lying.

" It - a -oy ." 

"A boy?" 

"He was - train... good.. and whipped," were the only words I could make out before it went out completely. 

From what I had made out was that they hadn't connected me to the boy they had beat up, but that they were aware of me and more than likely would come after yours truly. I may be out of my depth here. I tried to fall asleep on the roof with thinking positive. I could buy out Liverpool before Man Utd dominance. Become the best scout. Wow, I was really anxious, if my mind didn't try to imagine a positive situation where I won and instead, it had gotten completely off-topic and before I knew it, I was asleep.

-

-

-

I woke minutes before sunrise and went back to the dojo and grabbed normal clothes, wearing my uniform under it. I tried not to be seen and thankfully I was able to pull that off. When I had gotten back to the hotel. Rawlins was starting to stir and not long after woke up.

"God, I died and went to heaven, didn't I?" Clyde said, stirring from the bed.

"No, I brought you to this hotel, a five star one by the way," I responded. Damn, that sounded pretentious.

"Hey kid, want to bring me up to speed?"

"Well, I brought here because you passed out from your injuries and patched you up. Oh, and they know about me and want me dead, I think." I said. He looked a bit shocked. "You a doctor too? and how do you know the last part."

"Well I had bugged someone but that connection went out. Also, I had training in healing along with fighting. Want to know something?" I asked him taking a bit of a hostile tone. "Yeah?" He said tentatively.

"I learned that your name isn't Clyde or Rawlins. At least not according to your passport." I asked voice fully hostile, I knew taking some cues from Batman would be helpful. "I'm DEA, I'm working an undercover mission." He said. That made a bit more sense but it also didn't explain that his license was expired and wasn't renewed.

"Your license, it's expired," I said. "Yes, I've been undercover for a while. I'm a detective also." He said offended that I could think that he was even suspicious. "Well, sherlock. Let's compare notes. What do you know about them?"

"I've been working the case for a few years, things got really personal between me and the ghost dragons. They hurt some people close to me. I got a bit out of line so my license was suspended. You wouldn't understand." That last sentence made unreasonably angry. I was quiet for a few seconds as I calmed myself and finally said. "Hit me, I can take it," I said in what was hopefully a calm voice.

"I'll tell you later. What got you involved in this case?" He said hurting as he got out of bed. Well, how do I not lie and still not reveal too much that was the question. "I was walking around and saw those guys. Got into a bit of a scuffle and the decided to chase them into the building. You know the rest." I said. Yeah, nothing in that sentence was a lie. I was a bit worried that I had given away too much.

"Thank you by the way for saving me there.ow, where are my clothes? I'll get out here after that," He said walking over to the wardrobe. "No way, I'm coming with you and you can grab anything out of there. Your old ones are ripped up." I replied defiantly. "No you are not, and how much did you pay for this room kid?" He responded. 

"I'm already involved, either we do this together or I do it alone. I'm going after these guys whether alone or not." Just as I said that someone appeared on the window. 

"You both are in danger." said the voice, it was definitely a female. I turned my head and saw a woman wearing a purple trench coat then I turned back to Clyde and said. "A colleague?" I asked raising a brow. He shook his head. 

"If I found you, they can too. They are more than likely on their way by now." Then she turned toward the window she had come from and gestured out. I quickly tore off my clothes to reveal the uniform. I hadn't taken off the mask. This was more than weird, I was running from a dragon drug gang with an unknown woman -also one I didn't trust- and a former DEA agent. If I survived this, I was definitely buying Liverpool.

When I was walking along the ledge, bullets started being fired from the inside and the door was knocked down by the sounds of it. When one of the dragons saw us out the window, he started firing. "We should take to the roofs," she said already climbing up. "No way, I'm going to be able to climb," Clyde said. I got an idea. "Wait a sec," I said jumping up and throwing a grappling hook to set it up and quickly attached it to myself than leaned down to grab him and pull him up. 

"Follow me." She said curtly not looking back. I wasn't sure I wanted to oblige, I didn't know her and certainly didn't trust her. But it was either that or the guys with the guns. So immediate death or a possible delayed one, I would choose the latter option any day although I would like it better if it was neither.

She lead us down from -sidenote: I don't recommend carrying anyone while dodging bullets- the rooftop through the fire escape, apt name if there was any, down to a car. I got into the backseat, placed Clyde down, and grabbed a gas batarang from the belt as a just-in-case option but she abandoned the car as quickly as she drove it. After driving away a bit she left before I could ask any questions.

When she left, I jumped into the driver's seat and drove away. I went into the countryside and then made a call to one of the houses I was looking at before I came here to rent it. 

At the house, I set up a computer after tending to opened wounds. Rawlins got a fever and was looking a bit delirious, so I knocked him out. I don't think he would appreciate that nor do I think he would appreciate what I'm about to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Due to a few things I'd learned after writing the chapter and somethings that, due to the nature of comic books, are inconsistent with other comics relying mostly on the storylines from the Robin and Red Robin run (when we get to that) but not including young justice or teen titans storylines due to my unfamiliarity with them. If I ever take them into consideration when writing I'll look at the wiki and or the comicvine summarization of the story arc.
> 
> As always leave your thought on the comments below.


End file.
